Driving Change In A New Company

Change in an ever evolving environment is crucial. Stay still for too long and
the competition will have moved too far too fast for you to keep up. One of the
primary focuses of my role is driving change. This change impacts a whole
technical department and spans process change through to culture change. As time
goes by initiating change becomes easier but this wasn’t always the case.

The challenge of initiating change in a new company can depend on many things:
company size, position, culture, hierarchy; but one thing I’ve found to be true
is that with the right level of persistence anyone can promote change.

When I started my most recent job I was full of ideas and suggestions,
observations and assessments of how things are currently done and how they can
be done better. Day 1 is not the time to share too much of this. However you
might be coming up with good suggestions and making the right observations, make
note of these things.

Once you’ve got a feel for your position in the company and know how the clock
ticks you can start with some of your smaller ideas. If your boss is a dead end
try talking to their boss. If you want buy in from your peers start talking.
This is not a fast processes but a careful and methodical one that you will need
to nurture if you want to see it through.

Now for the best part. Once you’ve got that first success under your belt the
next time will just be easier. The scale of this first change may be small but
what you’ve gained was much more than the implementation of an idea, you gained
trust. Next time you suggest something your peers will follow quicker, your
bosses will agree sooner and with the same persistence and nurturing you will
realise your changes.

It is however important to note that your first few changes really do need to be
positive experiences. If your idea sucks you only really have yourself to blame.